Keeping batteries in camper over winter?
There's a lot of advice out there that says the best way to maintain deep cycle batteries over the winter is to remove them from the camper and put them in warm storage. However, I'd like to use the ...
Forum Discussion
Batteries die of heat, not cold.
One thing not mentioned so far, the charge and float voltage of batteries increases at colder temperatures, that is, the temp coefficient is negative. If you are keeping it plugged in, it's best to have a temp compensated charger, and the float voltage will go up as it gets colder, not down. Good AGMs will not discharge enough over 6 months to worry about, and I'd just make sure there were no loads on them. In a camper, there are often things connected directly to the battery, like the CO detector and certain controls and idiot lights. Removing the ground terminal is a sure way to know they are disconnected.
One thing not mentioned so far, the charge and float voltage of batteries increases at colder temperatures, that is, the temp coefficient is negative. If you are keeping it plugged in, it's best to have a temp compensated charger, and the float voltage will go up as it gets colder, not down. Good AGMs will not discharge enough over 6 months to worry about, and I'd just make sure there were no loads on them. In a camper, there are often things connected directly to the battery, like the CO detector and certain controls and idiot lights. Removing the ground terminal is a sure way to know they are disconnected.
